Eternity in their hearts

Happy May Day and Rabbits and all that jazz. :)

I started (re)reading Eternity in Their Hearts by Don Richardson the other day. It's really interesting, if possibly questionable in its theology and reasoning at times. For those who haven't read it, he basically presents the idea (with supporting data from various people groups) that a large proportion of the peoples in the world believe in a creator-god from whom they've been separated. There are all sorts of stories and traditions in these various tribes which relate closely to the truth we know in scripture. It makes one wonder...

He seems to imply that all these stories and traditions come from general revelation. This is probably true for some, but others....I'm not so sure. For example:

1. He lists a lot of tribes who believed that the creator-god had written down his law on something, but through their own negligence they lost it. Most of them believed that this lost book would be restored to them by a white man someday. I dare say this much is true. My question is, if they had no contact with anyone Jewish or Christian since (presumably) the tower of Babel, how would they even know of the existence of such a book? The Bible (except maybe Job?) wasn't written until much later. It makes me wonder if perhaps they had some sort of contact with Jewish people during the Old Testament period? It's possible for God to have planted the idea of the existence of such a book without even their ancestors having seen it, but I don't really see how the belief in the existence of this book follows directly from general revelation without either knowledge of an actual book or God's intervention.

2. One tribe had a tradition where once a year they would take two chickens. They would kill one and sprinkle its blood along a river bank. The other they would tie at one end of a small boat with a lantern on the other end. Then all the members of the tribe would take turns laying their "sin" on the boat. They would then release the boat and hope that it made it down stream and far away from them without getting stuck or capsizing. This is very reminiscent of the Jewish practice of having a scape goat every year on Yom Kippur. How would they think of instituting such a practice unless they had somehow become familiar with the Jewish practice? Again, it's possible, but I have a hard time believe that its probable.

At any rate, do we really know how far Judaism or even Christianity spread? During the Babylonian captivity, for example, we know that empire spread over a large region, and we know that Daniel was a high official. Who knows how far his influence extended? Maybe an echo of the truth even reaches these distant tribes.

Well, it is food for thought. And, where ever these stories and traditions come from, they certainly can make it much easier for missionaries to share the truth.

He also mentions an Inca ruler who is given credit for writing hymns to this creator-god. I was curious and tried to find these hymns online. Here's one I found:

Oh Creator, root of all,
Wiracocha, end of all,
Lord in shining garments
who infuses life and sets all things in order,
saying, "Let there be man! Let there be woman!"
Molder, maker,
to all things you have given life:
watch over them,
keep them living prosperously, fortunately
in safety and peace.
Where are you?
Outside? Inside?
Above this world in the clouds?
Below this world in the shades?
Hear me!
Answer me!
Take my words to your heart!
For ages without end
let me live,
grasp me in your arms,
hold me in your hands,
receive this offering
wherever you are, my Lord,
my Wiracocha.

Tears

There are lots of things that can occasionally make me cry, mostly depending on the day, how much sleep I had the previous night, and other circumstances like that. However, there are very few things that I can think of that almost always cause me to tear up, and I think that most of those things fit into two categories:

1. Heaven/Eternity
I don't think that I've had any one really close to me die, so at the funerals I've gone to, I find that I am only partly weeping because of how that person will be missed. More, though, at least at the funerals of Christians, I weep for the joy of the hope of seeing them again, for the joy they have right now in the presence of the Lord, and for the example their lives have been. It may seem backwards, but I think the reason that I am weeping in light of all that joy is that there is still sorrow mixed in. There is good to come, but this is not the way its supposed to be right now. Then, when I think of how all will be made right, the sorrow and joy just overflow into tears.
Here are some other things in this vein that generally make me cry:
-The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis. Again, ironically, the battle doesn't really make me cry. It's what's beyond the door of the stable that gets me.
-Some songs about heaven.
-Various missionary stories or stories of martyrs such as Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot. Yeah, even thinking about the title of that one makes my eyes mist a little.

Which brings me to the second category of things that make me cry (they overlap a bit).

2. Missions (especially if children are involved)
Every year my church has a missions conference, and every year during that time we have the flag ceremony where various people carry the flags of the countries they represent. It's hard to explain why its so moving, but it is. I think it's partly the thought of the completion of all things (see reason #1) -- the thought of every tribe, tongue, and nation singing together to the glory of God. Add to that thought the visual representation of all these people of different nationalities carrying their flags and the sound of the whole church singing and praising God. It's like a little taste of heaven. Which is perhaps why it makes me cry.
Again, other related things that bring tears to my eyes:
-It's corny, but the Operation Christmas Child videos make me cry.
-Missions songs, especially when accompanied by pictures, especially when the pictures are of children.

Perhaps the emotion here is more poignant because the tears shed for these reasons are less selfish than those shed when I'm upset for myself?

I suppose in reality these two groups could be put into one. For both I feel a sorrow that the world is not as it should be, but for both I also feel a hope that this is not the way things will always be. It's like a minor chord which is achingly beautiful (and makes you glad because of it's beauty), but equally sorrowful. Somehow it reminds you that the curse is still in effect but it will not always be so.

This last Sunday night we had a concert with a bunch of songs about heaven, and that's what started me on this topic. I think I am expressing myself badly, but I wanted to at least write it out and perhaps someday I'll be able to explain my thoughts in this area better.